A Compendium of Unruly Caterwauling from George Rossi of Little Georgie and the Shuffling Hungarians

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Daily Dose #73 Goodnight, Sweet Prince

Huckleberry checking out the new kitchen floor at "The Sedge Wedge"

Last November, after a year of tumult where at one point I was living in spartan hotel room with three dogs in the Adirondacks, we finally settled into our new home in Syracuse.Traveling, and being responsible for a menagerie of two aging Shih Tzus, a young 80 lb rescue retriever with a boundless source of dog energy, and a cat that sometimes resembles a criminal mastermind capable of great evil mischief, is not without its challenges.So all of us here at the Sedge Wedge were pretty relieved to finally take possession of our new domicile and finally start our lives, all together. No more hotels, no more disruption. We may have been surrounded by a pile of boxes, but contained within were the familiar smells of our old home, and our old routines.

Huck and Doo dig Elvis

We barely made it all together across the finish line. Doodle (Huckleberry’s litter mate and little sister) took ill over the spring and summer. Being the runt of the litter and kind of snatched from the jaws of eminent death as a little tiny puppy, she had a few genetic / physical defects; primarily a little hole in her heart that got progressively larger through thirteen human years. Her heart sounds like a out of balance Maytag washing machine in the throes of an agitation cycle from hell. Her little ticker has a tendency to slosh fluid into her lungs, causing all sorts of problems, including passing out from oxygen deprivation.So this became part of life last year. Emergency Vet visits, and a pretty complex daily chemical cocktail to keep her alive, pain free, and relatively healthy and happy. The pill pocket people (and the dog pharmaceutical distributor) love me, and probably have a portrait of Doodle hanging in the vestibule of their front offices, an engraved brass tag attached reading “Our Benefactor”.We did in fact, finally turn the key, and the corner; or so we thought anyway.But we didn’t. Huckleberry suddenly came up lame in his right front leg. This wasn’t exactly abnormal, as Shih Tzus are notoriously jenky in the joints, and there have been many dislocations of shoulders and legs; particularly when Huckie decides he’s super dog and calculates he can negotiate soft landings after launching himself off the bed and becoming airborne as he attempts to save the free world from...the epitome of all that is unholy, the cat!After shopping for a new vet, transferring paperwork, and going through several visitations and second opinions, I got the bad news. This was no jenky joint. Basically he was suffering from degenerative bone disease, and was slowly becoming paralyzed, from front to back on his right side, and eventually, in total.So the new house became a hospice care center, as I tried to allow him to squeeze as much life out of this world as he could, relatively comfortable and pain free.Our days were spent with him by my side in the man cave, him listening to me practice the piano. Something that we used to do quite a bit in New Orleans, but not so much during my time up in CNY. He likes Beethoven Piano Sonatas, tolerates my butcher job of Chopin, and prefers the dirty boogie woogie. His tail wags telegraphed the tale of the scale.

Huckie truly loved munching on his "snowbies" (His cue word for snow)

My
nights were spent ferrying him cradled in my arms, taking him outside every hour on the hour. He
didn’t necessarily have to do his business (Although that did become
problematic over time; How are you supposed to pee when you can’t lift
your leg without falling over? This became a source of painful
confuzzlement). Basically, he just wanted to eat as much snow
as he possibly could, and I was happy to oblige. It kept me from having
to subcutaneously hydrate him with an I.V drip bag and a needle; a task neither of us looked forward to.

So basically, I’ve been a 24 hour on call nurse, and haven’t had a night’s sleep in two months. My sleep deprivation is so severe that I’m in a constant hallucinatory state. Forgive me if this blog doesn’t contain my usual verbose flourishes.I didn’t want to flick the switch on Huck out of personal convenience. I ushered him into this world, and he trusted me to take him out on his terms, not mine.He fought right to the end. His spirit? Indomitable. Inspirational, really. Of all the gifts he gave me over thirteen years of love and loyalty, this last lesson he taught me may be the most valuable.We had a pleasant last day. The weather broke, so he could smell the onset of Spring and the aroma of the dirt wafting up from it’s Winter slumber one last time. He got to sit in the sun some.

Huckie's Last Supper

He laid next to me all day, licking the thin veneer of shaving gel off my face and neck (Edge shaving gel: Puppy Crack). Sloppy work but what the hell. Doodle and Gingy joined us for a last supper of freshly cooked bacon, his favorite treat.And as the hours ticked down my anxiety ratcheted up. As the knot in my stomach commensurately rose into my throat as we got closer to having to leave for the vet, it was all I could do from totally losing my shit. Driving while crying isn’t exactly a good idea. Huck always knew when I was in trouble and turmoil. I tried to shield him from the disturbance in my heart and mind the best I could for his last day in the material world.

I can rationalize to infinitude concerning my ultimate decision: ("He's in a better place", "You did the humane thing", "He'll be there on the other side waiting for you"....). All of those rationalizations ring hollow today.

He was my constant; my little rock that amazingly kept me tethered to the earth's surface for 13 years and three months, preventing me from floating off into the ether. All the shit that life throws at you (and life is capable of heaving enormous piles of shit), little Huckleberry was right next to me on the front line, a loyal soldier taking fire. He never wavered. He was my raison d’etre, because he was my responsibility, above anything else. He loved me without question and I him.Swaddled in his favorite fuzzy green blanket, nestled comfortably in my arms, he didn’t know what hit him. He was gone five seconds after the shot was administered.

A big chunk of me left with him today. Life without my running partner of thirteen years is a great unknown. It’s too soon to make a total emotional damage assessment, but I’m afraid it’s going to be more critical than I could ever have originally projected. Time will tell.

I’m extremely grateful to be surrounded by the love of my remaining furry children, my family, and my partner Michele. They surround me and prop me up when I'm about to dive bomb into the abyss.We never got to have that wing ding in Hawaii (More on that later; stay tuned kids). My hope is that he is surrounded by Hula girls, munching on spit roasted swine, with the strains of slack key guitars and ukuleles softly lilting through the gentle ocean breeze.

Goodnight, Sweet Prince.

Huck and Doo at a Lua at the imaginary "Million Dollar Bash" in Hawaii

My best friend, ever. Huckleberry Rossi (12/10/02-03/08/16)

"You may shoot for the stars and end up beaten and bloodied in a back alley behind Pluto, but at least I dare to dream; that’s better than being Earthbound mired in the muck of mediocrity".

I judge my forward progress and success by the crushingly epic nature of my failures.

The more epic the crash, the more I’m convinced I must be doing something right.

AS
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6 comments:

Only those of us who share our lives with critters can know the ultimate hurting that comes with it.. at the end. I have personally felt worse with the loss of an animal than the loss of a person.I guess that says a lot about us.:-( well, about me anywaysI had one die on Christmas day..Christmases are now ruined for me. I have ushered way too many to the other side.Still I have more creatures pick me out to be their host..After promising myself..NEVER again..We see how well that went,as I sit here surrounded by creatures young and old, that I will have to say goodbye to in the not so distant future, yet I cannot imagine my life without them I guess we never learn..To some of us, are given the trust to rescue..You are a good man George I wish you some peace with all this

George, you have both my sympathy and my empathy regarding Huck's transition from this earthly plane. I am also confident that you did everything humanly possible to give him as much as he gave you on the way through. Having had several dearly loved canine members of the family, I have found that the damage inflicted by their passing is commensurate with how deeply they managed to embed themselves in your heart and your daily life. You are a fortunate and blessed man in so many ways! Having Michele by your side has got to be a live changer in the most positive sense of the word. Having had Huck and still having Doo and yes, even the evil Emperor, the cat has got to be some consolation though it does not begin to fill the void. And let's not forget, that you still have your staggering musical gift and talent. My experience has been that music (and my faith) have gotten me through every trial & tribulation I have encounter thus far. I trust and hope that the same will be true for you!You need to know that, for those of us who have been able to live vicariously through both your music and your blog, sharing in your experience has been informative, educational and inspirational! I personally look forward to your continued shared experiences and adventures and wish you any comfort in regard to Huck that you receive form both me and others like me. Carry on my talented friend ... you have much to share and much to teach us ... and I, for one look forward to the experience! Sincerely, Mark Matthews mark-matthews@verizon.net

A beautiful tribute to Huckleberry. Thank you for sharing with us these memories. You were a wonderful Dog Dad and did everything to make his transition as easy as possible. The pain you feel is only representative of the love you two shared. How lucky are those of us who can feel so deeply ... not everyone has that capability. You truly are a good man, Georgie. I'm so fortunate to have you as my friend.